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Boston honors marathon survivors, first responders

BOSTON – There was a dancer who vowed she would perform again, a young newlywed who spoke movingly of the outpouring of love, a mayor who spoke from the heart as his eyes filled with tears and a vice president

BOSTON – The 26.2 miles run every third Monday in April will never be the same. The bombs that exploded last year near the Boston Marathon finish line, killing three and injuring more than 260, assured as much. But so did everything that followed, including Tuesday's tribute event.

In a ceremony that was more stirring than solemn, Vice President Biden sounded the perfect closing note. "Next Monday, on Patriots' Day, when 36,000 people line up to start the marathon, you will send a resounding message around the world. Not to just the rest of the world, but to the terrorists, that we will never yield," Biden said, his voice rising, full of defiance. "We will never cower. America will never, ever, ever stand down.

"We are Boston. We are America. We respond. We endure. We overcome ... and we own the finish line."

Monday's race is expected to signify just that. "For those of us who will ride and run, we will do so for those who are no longer with us," said Patrick Downes, one of the three survivors who spoke at the tribute event.

Downes and his wife, Jessica Kensky, then newlyweds, each lost a leg but gained something in return. "We would never wish the devastation and pain we have experienced on any of you," he said. "However, we do wish that all of you, at some point in your lives, feel as loved as we have felt this last year. It has been the most humbling experience of our lives. We hope you feel all the emotion we feel when we say, 'Thank you.'"

Thomas Menino, Boston's former mayor who has an advanced form of cancer, received a standing ovation as he walked to the dais. His eyes filled with tears as he spoke about the first responders. "The courage and generosity of others made this one of the most hallowed grounds here on earth," he said.

The Boston Marathon, the oldest continuously held marathon in the world, has always held a hallowed place in sports. Now, as Menino eloquently put it, it is also hallowed grounds, not just because of the lives and limbs lost, but because of all those who ran to help.

Biden said during last year's marathon, the whole world witnessed "ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things." He recounted the story of Carlos Arredondo, the cowboy hat-wearing hero who ran to help Jeff Bauman and others injured in the blasts.

"He wasn't a firefighter, he wasn't a trained medic, he wasn't a police officer," Biden said of Arredondo, who wore a black cowboy hat to Tuesday's event.

"Yet he instinctively, he ran to (the injured)," Biden said. "That's what Bostonians do. That's what the whole world saw. That's what America does."

Bauman, the only survivor who lost both legs above the knee, wanted to be at the tribute to thank all who helped him recover. A year ago, he said his goal was to be able to walk by this time. He did just that Tuesday, moving at a good clip on his prosthetic legs, alongside his fiancée, Erin, who is six months pregnant with their first child.

At the end of the event, most of the 2,700 survivors, first responders, their family members and officials gathered at the finish line in a steady rain. At the moment of silence — 2:49 p.m. ET, the time the first bomb exploded — only the sound of raindrops hitting umbrellas could be heard. Church bells rang. An American flag was raised. Bagpipes sang their mournful song.

In six days, there is expected to be a very different sound at the same spot. There will be raucous cheers as runners huff past the finish line, exhausted and exhilarated. A year after one of the city's most treasured events was hijacked by terror, Boston wants to reclaim its race. And own the finish line.

Contributing: G. Jeffrey MacDonald

PHOTOS: Boston Marathon Tribute

Dignitaries, including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, survivors and first responders participate in a flag raising ceremony at the Boston Marathon. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)

Boston Marathon survivor bombing survivor Erika Brannock, with walker, crosses the marathon finish line after a ceremony marking the one year anniversary of the Boston bombing. Brannock's left leg was amputated above the knee as a result of the bombing. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)

Carlos Arredondo and his wife walk the marathon route to finish line. Arredondo was wearing a cowboy hat when he tied a shirt around Jeff Bauman's legs and lifted him into a wheelchair shortly after the bombs exploded near the finish line in 2013. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)

Boston area police and fire department flag bearers get into formation during the flag raising ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings on Boylston Street near the finish line. (Photo: Jared Wickerham, Getty Images)

Vice president Joe Biden (middle) stands with families of those killed in the bombing (rear). Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and Boston mayor Marty Walsh stand during a tribute and flag raising ceremony at the ceremony for the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)

Survivors, officials, first responders and guests pause as the flag is raised at the finish line during a tribute in honor of the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. (Photo: Charles Krupa, AP)

Chief of Watertown, Mass., police Edward Deveau pauses while observing the site of the second explosion after the ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. (Photo: Andrew Burton, Getty Images)

Police on bikes cycle across the Boston Marathon finish line prior to a remembrance ceremony for family members and survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing on Boylston Street on Tuesday. (Photo: Elise Amendola AP)

Tim Sorbanelli, 21, a Berklee College of Music student, plays his guitar near the finish line of the Boston Marathon prior to the flag raising ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. (Photo: Jared Wickerham, Getty Images)

Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, (to Cardinal's left), and Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley, (facing families), with Richard, Liu, and the Corcoran family before the tribute and flag raising to those affected on the anniversary of Boston Marathon bombings. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)

Honor Guard members line up in front of the Forum Restaurant in Copley Square, where a wreath laying ceremony was held to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. (Photo: Wendy Maeda AP)

Massachusetts state and local police and fire department members stand near the site of one of the bombs following a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings on Boylston Street near the finish line. (Photo: Jared Wickerham, Getty Images)

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick walks with members of the victims' families during a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings on Boylston Street near the finish line. (Photo: Jared Wickerham Getty Images)

The family of Martin Richard including Bill Richard, along with Boston mayor Marty Walsh, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and other members of the victims' families stand during a wreath-laying ceremony. (Photo: Jared Wickerham Getty Images)

Massachusetts state and local police and fire department members present flags during a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings on Boylston Street. (Photo: Jared Wickerham Getty Images)